Two major cryptocurrency exchanges hit by DDoS attacks

Two major cryptocurrency exchanges hit by DDoS attacks

  • Ali Raza
  • 28th February, 12:37
  • Two major exchanges, OKEx and Bitfinex, were targeted by multiple DDoS attacks in the last 24 hours.
  • According to reports, OKEx remains almost entirely unaffected by the attack, even though it suffered two of them.
  • Bitfinex was only attacked once, but the exchange went offline for less than an hour, but it managed to repel the attack and protect all the funds in its possession.

Hacking attacks against crypto exchanges have become fairly common, and not a lot of people are surprised when they hear about them at this point. With that said, attacks on major exchanges are still very important events, and the two exchanges attacked in the last 24 hours are both quite well-known.

According to recent reports, Malta-based OKEx was attacked twice, with the first attack taking place yesterday, and the second one targeting exchange again today. The attacks were disclosed by the exchange’s own CEO, Jay Hao, who reported them on his Weibo account.

According to the announcement, the first attack had a severity of 200 GB, while the second one ended up being twice as strong, with 400GB severity. Despite the two attacks, the company’s CEO claims that the exchange remains largely unaffected. OKEx did not disclose the attacks on Twitter, but it did hint that a system upgrade for futures and options trading is to take place.

Bitfinex had to briefly go offline

The attack on the second exchange, Hong Kong-based Bitfinex, was significantly more severe. This exchange did warn users of a DDoS attack via Twitter, and it did so earlier today. The severity of the attack was confirmed by the fact that the platform went offline for a time, although it returned in less than an hour, reporting that all services are back to normal.

Bitfinex CEO, Paolo Ardoino, commented on the event by saying that the exchange experienced a very sophisticated DDoS attack. The entire team worked very hard to prevent it from doing damage, and they succeeded. He added that the funds remained safe during and after the incident.

It is currently unknown why these two exchanges were targeted in the same way and why the attacks were following one another so closely. It is also unknown who was behind the attacks, or what the attackers were hoping to achieve.

By Ali Raza
